Children are such a blessing…
Little boys and cars...
Loving the big guys playing with him!
Our adorable niece.
Eating her citrus (so Abby says 
)...
Cute!
“Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me” (Mark 9:37).
As we continue on with our series of unposted pictures, I first want to reflect on what the Lord did during that second week.
Life had been so full and busy those last few weeks before we left, that we still had more preparations to do on our new sessions, which we were giving at The Christ-Led Family Conference. We needed the Lord’s strength even more, and we felt it! This was the younger five’s first time giving sessions, and they did an incredible job. The Lord’s hand of blessing was very evident! We had the privilege of ministering at a Sunday evening service through music, testimony, and Dad preaching.
We saw the Lord clearly at work as Dad sought Him for where to go next. Flagstaff had been rescheduled due to a winter storm, with tons of rain predicted for Arizona and California. It seemed anywhere we’d go we’d be met with lots of rain. The Lord allowed us a special time at the Joshua Tree National Park, with a brief hike before a rain storm. We had our first real night of camping; it seemed we were out in the middle of nowhere, with no cell phone and Internet access. It was a special time together as a family. The next day, we had plans to hike, but those were changed when we had a part that was broken on the water pump. It was a little disappointing, but as we drove back to “civilization,” we had a request from someone who wondered if we could do a Wednesday evening church service (this was Tuesday). We could see why the Lord brought us back; we were thrilled for another opportunity to share!
Sarah
John turned 19 on the trip... I started a tradition last year of getting the little mini candy bars and making the person's age out of the candy.
John had ice cream sandwiches for his "on the road" birthday celebration. His real family party will be this weekend!
Laundry is a challenge to juggle on the road. But, we've found it works well to use a laundromat: we can have all of our loads going at once, so laundry can be accomplished in about two hours!
Doing school in the bus!
Those beautiful, rich blue skies and towering palm trees were a treat in Arizona.
Talking to a little boy.
One of my "jobs" is to make up signs at each conference, directing where people are to go for each session.
It was a gorgeous day in Tucson that Saturday, so many people ate outside.
Mom giving a session.
Mary talking.
This man shared with Dad that he got rid of his TV after the weekend conference!
We write postcards back to our dear friends at the nursing home. Each Sunday we do them!
Here's our new furniture up front. You can click into the picture to see a bigger view. The seats were very comfortable, and we had plenty of space!
Starting out for our hike at Joshua Tree.
John
Does it look like that rock is leaning?
Hiking...
Joseph, a great photographer
My Sisters
Mary
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalms 32:8).
It’s always a delight to me when young ladies want to talk after the girls’ session at conferences. It seems the majority of the time it’s older girls in their teens sharing with me, but at one city, there were several little girls, maybe ages 8 or 9. Instead of what you might expect “thanks so much: I really enjoyed it!” I was surprised: they had solid questions. My heart broke over one such girl.
I share many things through Womanhood, but one aspect is having a good relationship with your parents and being open and honest with them. I also encourage that you should be able to tell your parents anything and to not hide things. This girl asked me how she could be open and talk when her mom won’t listen. When I asked how her mom wouldn’t listen, she said her mom will tell her just “to get over it.” This little girl’s eyes brimmed with tears as she talked. Oh, how my heart hurt! If only this mom knew what her words were doing to her daughter. I encouraged her to find a time when her younger brothers and sisters were in bed for the night and work at sharing her heart with her mom again. Please, dear moms, listen to your girls, don’t think anything is too silly, and work on that precious relationship. It’s so important!
My own mom is wonderful in listening to me: and she knows how I like to talk . She’s made it a priority to nurture that relationship and develop it.
Sarah
“Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (Psalms 34:11-13).
Thank you for praying! The funeral on Tuesday was such a blessing. I admit I feel tremendous pressure when we conduct a funeral. It is the concluding event of someone’s life, and the family likely will have certain expectations for the service. How do you give due honor to the one who died, without idolizing him? Only the Lord Jesus can give that sort of direction, and gratefully He did. So thank you so much for praying.
The man who died was such an encouragement to me. He was the picture of a faithful servant. I never heard a complaining word, and others who knew him for many years said they never did either. Even in the later years of such physical suffering, he didn’t complain. He loved his wife of 55 years, and she felt cherished by him. He faithfully attended church every Sunday he was in our nursing home.
He worked hard all his life doing manual labor during the heat of Kansas’ summers and the cold of our winters. He didn’t make much money, but he paid off their first house’s mortgage early, and then through the years bought nicer homes and cars debt free. He knew how to be careful with his money and not waste it on frivolous things.
To top it off we were able to share Christ with all who attended. We were so blessed to be asked to help them. The children sang two songs, which were deeply appreciated. I am so grateful to the Lord for His allowing us to be a part of our nursing-home church. Again, thank you for praying.
“Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications” (Psalms 86:6).
Steve
We were able to send out the February Dad’s and Mom’s Corners yesterday; they are a little late (we like to send them out the first week of the month) due to our trip. May you be encouraged by what Dad and Mom have to share this month!
Many blessings,
Sarah
P.S. At some point soon, Dad’ll be doing a blog post on the funeral; thank you for lifting up dear, sweet Mrs. B.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).
Just a quick post … Most of the family will be involved in a funeral today at 1:30 p.m. A dear, elderly man left this earth Thursday night. He had been at the nursing home we minister at for awhile, and then he was moved to another home, but his wife faithfully came back to the nursing home every Sunday for church.
Please lift up Mrs. B, a sweet lady, suddenly a widow after fifty-five years of marriage. If only you could have seen her at the visitation: she was radiantly resting in the Lord Jesus. She faithfully cared for Mr. B throughout these years of his failing health, and she herself has to use a walker. To lose Mr. B, is like losing half of herself; they had been one for so many years. As she talks of him, her face radiates the love they shared, but she is at peace with him being gone. Please pray for this dear woman, and that Jesus would be glorified through the message Dad shares and the music the younger five sing/play.
Love,
Sarah for the rest
“For I know that my redeemer liveth…” (Job 19:25).
As you can imagine, we take a ton of pictures on each trip, and only a small number in the overall scheme of things is posted. I was curious how many pictures we took, so I checked: over 5,600 pictures! After all, since they’re digital, there’s no harm in taking them (but long-term storage is more the issue).
I had the thought to post a few pictures as “memories” from the last six weeks as one blog post, but as I began to look through them, we have too many “unposted” pictures to go with just one blog post, so watch for a few more over the next weeks!
Seeing the hand of the Lord at work was amazing.
For week #1, here are a few things. The evening of January 2nd stands out in my mind, as we had bad news with the bus regarding some mechanical issues. Worst case was it could take two weeks to get the parts and the bus fixed, OR, maybe it wasn’t what we thought. Long story short, over that jam-packed Monday, January 4th, and lots of prayer, we were able to get a part overnighted. John installed it Tuesday morning in frigid outdoor temperatures, and he also made a temporary fix for another problem that would hold until we could stop on a free day at a Detroit Diesel shop and get a part installed. So, Tuesday afternoon, we were OFF, with Uriah running like a champ. We have found that the more problems we have prior to a trip, the more the spiritual fruit during the trip.
Dad has reminded us that never once have we missed a conference due to a bus problem. We also saw the Lord at work when an oil line blew in Oklahoma City; things looked a bit dismal that night as it was contemplated getting it fixed (and likely not going to Carlsbad Caverns). The next morning, John made several phone calls, and he decided he would fix it himself. We ended up being a stone’s throw from a place which had a part John needed to repair it.
I can’t imagine life without the Lord Jesus. Seeing Him work is thrilling: people may think that being a Christian means that everything will go well, at least from an earthly standpoint. No, it’s not that way. Yet there’s joy in following Jesus, in resting in Him through trials and challenges. Our desire is that as we share how the Lord is working, you will see the reality of Him doing the same in your life.
Here are some of the “unposted” pictures from the first week.
John checking the tire pressure before we left.
With our new furniture in the bus, we now have seatbelts. Here everyone is digging the first time for those seatbelts. After they were fished through the seat, we were fine, but it took a bit of work at the beginning! In next week's unposted pictures, I'll make sure to include one of our new seating.
Parked behind the building where they made the new oil line for us.
The Maxwell Girls
At Carlsbad...
Waiting for our cave tour that afternoon...
Our spelunkers (the boys and Dad) heading down into the lower cave!
A Christopher photo.
The first "unload" on the trip! Nice warm temperatures.
The girls talking after the music concert in El Paso.
Sisters at the El Paso Conference.
A house Mom lived in when she was a little girl (at Ft. Bliss).
Another gorgeous view out the bus, this time as we drove at White Sands.
You know how things go: we even had trouble with our generator. At one point, it wouldn't start, and when it did, it was just full of white smoke! Here's one such try in Las Cruces. The problem was eventually solved.
Sarah
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalms 118:29).
Since we were out on the West Coast for so long we got used to seeing – green! Now we’re settling back into the way things look in winter.
We were in California Sunday, and then...
in Kansas Wednesday!
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
(Genesis 8:22)
Anna
There is much unpacking (well, it’s really unloading as we don’t pack everything in bags now that we’re traveling in the bus) and settling down that is happening now that we’re home. Sarah has the most, because she does the trip “aftermath” for the ministry.
We were excited to be back home after being gone for six weeks. There are many aspects about house living that one finds they forget, and then appreciate when they are back home. It is amazing not bumping into each other all the time – or waiting for the hallway to clear before walking back to get something! We don’t have to watch our water usage like we did on the bus. It feels strange to go to the cupboard and get out a real plate since we have used paper products for the whole trip. We have to lose the habit of opening a drawer a short distance and then pushing down on the baby latch since we have become accustomed to that with the bus drawers. Even drinking from a normal cup seems unusual since we have been drinking bottles of water for so long.
Getting all of our things from our bunks is a bit of a challenge when we're all working at the same time!
There are lots of places where things get stashed, and if we don't do a thorough inspection of the bus when we get home then a few weeks later we'll be looking for something and have forgotten that it was on the bus!
Jesse unloaded the books and such from the bays.
Like we mentioned earlier Grandma has been sorting the mail while were gone, and she made it very easy to sort through it all now that we're home!
Yesterday, KDOT was spraying the roads with a salt/liquid mixture because another winter storm is predicted for this area, and we drove through it so Jesse washed the bus to get the salt off!
“…O Lord GOD…let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:29)
Anna
As we were driving along in “no man’s land” Sunday afternoon, we saw there was some sort of situation coming up. I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures as we went by. What was it? Firefighters finishing up with an RV that had burned completely and was still smoking. Dad thought it had likely happened that morning.
We are grateful for the Lord’s protection over those thousands of miles! Now that we’re back at home, we’re just catching up and settling back in .
Sarah
“For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me” (Psalms 31:3).
Around 3;15, we pulled into our driveway! It’s been an amazing 6 week trip, and now we’re back at home–for eleven weeks that is.
Thanks for praying: we are so grateful. More later!
Sarah for the rest
Home Sweet Home
“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’S name is to be praised” (Psalms 113:2-3).
Our conference in Flagstaff went well! After setup and before the conference started, we had a nice time of fellowship, with the board of the homeschool group there in Flagstaff, over a meal. We appreciated getting to know them and their families.
Setup was quick and easy. The evening was over before we new it, and then we were on our way toward home since we had decided to drive for an hour before we went to bed!
Joseph always does a wonderful job with getting the sound setup.
Jesse setting up the projector.
“Serve the LORD with gladness…” (Psalms 100:2)
Anna
But we’ll tackle that tomorrow, after a night’s sleep (hopefully the 1/3 that didn’t sleep well will tonight, and the other 2/3s won’t experience what the 1/3 did!).
It’s amazing how long it took to drive through New Mexico today! We entered Colorado mid-afternoon. It was a pretty quiet driving day, without too much “excitement.” We have stopped for the night in western Kansas, and we only have six and a half more hours to go tomorrow.
We saw lots of mountains (but I know that will no longer be the case!) and several herds of antelope. Plus, we noticed many things are now brown! Anna remarked that she had forgotten how brown everything will be at home. After 6 weeks away and being on the West Coast where many things were green, brown will be a bit of a shock. We’re back to winter for a little while too .
Sarah for the rest
Dad getting a great neck rub (by Joseph).
“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:9).
On this trip, we’ve been blessed by several very special gifts and notes from children.
Marina, thank you for the sugar cookies, your note, and your gift! We were very blessed by all. If you read this, we'd love for you to e-mail us the recipe. It'll be a great "A Taste on the Road" recipe.
Lots of notes and special gifts from missionary children hand-delivered by their mom who happened to be up in the states!
Another precious note and gift!
Another sweet note.
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).
After a good night’s sleep for 2/3 of the family, we headed out around 7:45. It’s a sunny day as we drive across New Mexico. The scenery is very interesting: lots of scrub vegetation, rugged red rock faces, small mountains, and patches of snow.
As we motor down the interstate, some are doing school, others are on their computers, one is driving (Dad!), and another is studying.
Our goal is to make it to Colorado Springs or Limon tonight. Thank you for praying for us! We are very grateful.
Sarah
“Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast” (Psalms 36:6).
Here it is 11 p.m., and we’re driving an hour down the road to spend the night in Winslow, Arizona to get a head start on our 20 hour drive home. It’s hard to believe that we finished our 21st and final stop on this trip. Yes, it’s true, we’re
More later.
Sarah for the rest
“But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire” (1 Thess. 2:17).
It’s hard to believe we just finished our sixth weekend conference in a row. The last six weeks have been a bit of a blur, although the pictures and blog posts help to document everywhere we’ve been! In a way, it seems like a long time since we were home, but yet, the time has gone so quickly, it doesn’t seem like that.
We arrived in Fallbrook Thursday afternoon. We had a quiet afternoon/evening, resting and preparing for the weekend. At that point, we discovered an issue with a pipe going to one of our tanks, so Friday morning, Dad, Joseph, and the coordinator’s son (who kindly drove them and another time let us borrow his truck) went to get the parts needed.
By the afternoon, the repair was made, and we were preparing to set up. I think for the most part set up has gone quite smoothly after so much practice! This weekend, four families graciously provided meals for us–thank you!
Jesse setting up Friday.
We were talking about this being our last weekend set up (on this trip of course), and the girls posed for a set up picture.
The weather was almost too good to be true. Crisp, blue skies, temperatures in the 70′s, green grass, and blooming flowers. This was like late spring in Kansas, not winter.
I thought this was a neat situation. The lady on the right was explaining about the Preparing Sons book and encouraging the other lady on it!
Back to the conference: hearts were again open, hungry, and receptive. Dad and Mom had many parents come up to them to discuss things shared and their own personal situation. Each of us children also had opportunities to talk and encourage others as well. The weekends seem to fly by!
Then, Dad preached for a small fellowship this morning. We were supposed to have met at the local water plant’s meeting room, but apparently the room was given to someone else, so a new location was secured: a pavilion at the local community center. Chairs were set up, and church was begun under the small shelter. It was a wonderful time of singing, preaching, and talking afterward. We were very blessed by the friendship and warmth of those attending—they made us feel very welcome!
Sarah for the rest
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).
You all did a great job of guessing the obstacles for our bus found in the photo, and you mentioned many more good ones than the three we had targeted for you to find. Below is the retouched photo numbered with the three things we were particularly watching out for when we were at this point in our drive: 1) Power/cable lines. Especially getting onto country property, you need to be very careful not to snag one of these. 2) Low trees. Our bus is 13′ tall – taller than two grown men standing on each others’ shoulders and then add two more feet to that. Unlike power or cable lines, if the hazard is small branches or leaves, we can sometimes pull/move branches out of the way to provide for access. 3) Tight turns.
Thank you, Joseph, for your help on the photo!
“O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:” (Psalm 66:8)
Anna
Sorry we didn’t do a post yesterday! We are on our way to Flagstaff at the moment, after another wonderful weekend conference. The Lord has done amazing things on this trip, and it’s been such an incredible blessing.
Flagstaff, which is our last stop, had been re-scheduled because of a snow storm back in January. The weather promises to be great tomorrow.
It’s a sunny day as we travel across part of the Mojave Desert.
Here are two pictures–more pictures later with a full report!
Sarah for the rest
Friday evening.
John and Anna giving a session together.
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
As we travel and visit areas and homes, there are many places where we can’t go because the bus is just too big. We have heard many exclamations after we make it into a very tight area, or when people see the bus after not being able to make the turn into their driveway, about how big the bus really is. It’s just hard to picture how large the bus is when not in person.
I just happened to get the photo below, and later realized that there are three things in the picture that show the issues with many roads and the reason why we can’t fit down many of them. We are constantly on a watch for these obstacles, and there are many more that aren’t even seen in the photo, but for now we’ll stick with only 3 of them.
Can you find the three hazards to watch out for when driving a big vehicle in this photo? Remember you can click into the photo to get a closer look. You can post your guesses as a comment.
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” (Proverbs 22:3)
Anna
Yesterday, we made it safely to Fallbrook, California. It was a beautiful drive here, and we enjoyed the California sun. A few weeks ago when we were here, it rained, so we’re thankful for the warmth while we have it before heading back to Kansas.
Our drive was pretty much uneventful (except for one high-speed panic stop when someone dove for an exit and stopped in front of us), and we are always grateful for the safety that the Lord has given us. There are times when vehicles don’t realize that the bus doesn’t stop as fast as they do, but still the Lord has protected us from a wreck.
We had a bit of an exciting time getting to the church, because some of these California back roads did not seem to be made with buses in mind. It felt like following a snake through the hills, but as always, Dad was a good driver, and we were able to make it here safely.
Today was quiet, and it was refreshing to take a breather after some busy days.
Driving down the interstate.
The daffodils are blooming here in California.
A family here in California gave us some grassfed beef. We enjoyed some fry-pan hamburgers the other night for dinner.
“For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:” (Luke 4:10)
Anna
During our time in Victoria, five of us were blessed with the privilege of being able to hike and enjoy some of the scenery on the island. Our conference coordinators had left their van at the house we had parked at so that we could be able to go sightseeing. On Monday morning, Dad, Mom, John, Jesse, and I went on two hikes.
The first one was down to the sound, and then we still had a little time so we decided to see if we could make it to the top of Mount Work. The trees, ferns, moss, and water were so lusciously green. It was a beautiful time, and the scenery was breathtaking. Even though it was cloudy at the top, we still enjoyed the hike, and we just imagined what it would look like if there were no clouds!
“Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” (Psalms 96:6)
Anna
We had a special time Tuesday afternoon at a Mother Daughter Tea. The coordinators had done an amazing job at making the time special. Everything was beautifully decorated. Sadly, we didn’t get a picture of all the pretty decorations, but you might get an idea of what the tables looked like by observing them in the background of a couple of the photos.
For the first session Mom gave Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit, and then Sarah, Mom, and I gave Keepers at Home, a session we now have for young ladies. Because Mary was sick, she did not attend the tea, so we had to change our workshop around a little – giving Mom some of it.
We were encouraged to see so many mothers and daughters seeking to serve the Lord and their families from home. It seems so many have lost the vision of a woman staying at home and taking care of her family. I am ever so grateful to my mom for what she has invested in my life. I know that her staying home and not sending me to school has had an irreplaceable impact on my life, and I desire to keep that same vision. We want to encourage girls to have the vision to be keepers at home and to invest in their future families like their moms have invested in their lives. We are suggesting girls start to prepare for being a keeper at home some day where they are homeschooling their children and caring for their families. The Keepers at Home session grew from seeing that so many Christian young women have lost the vision of staying home and caring for a family.
Thank you to all who did such a wonderful job in the kitchen!
“To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus 2:5)
Anna
Tuesday morning, after a short night of sleep, we drove to the ferry terminal, arriving a little after 6 a.m., for the 7 o’clock ferry.
We had a plan. Everyone except Mary and I was going to bundle up to go out on deck, watching the sun rise, and observing the beautiful view. After the bus was parked, we headed up several floors to the passenger area. It was a cold, brisk morning, but the family enjoyed their time out on the deck while Mary and I stayed inside the passenger areas to keep warm and explore.
Family stayed close to the wall out of the wind.
It had been a misty morning, but it cleared up after awhile.
The sun rise
The narrow strait we just sailed through.
See the tiny lighthouse?
There were many little islands scattered across the water.
A sea gull enjoying a free ride by soaring in the wind, being pushed up as the ferry moves swiftly through the water.
In the meantime, after exploring the inside for a bit, Mary and I looked for a place to sit with a view out the side. We decided to try to find a place near the front for a better view, so at Christopher’s suggestion, we purchased something from the cafe and found a wonderful area to sit.
Part way through our ride, we saw “something” we were hoping to see, “something” that was even mentioned we might see as a blog comment.
The Orcas (killer whales) were surfacing and spouting in unison! One man who has ridden the ferry three times every month for years said he has never seen them before. We felt blessed to see them on our one day-light ride.
ALL of the family saw them! It was an incredible few moments of seeing God’s amazing creatures.
“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21).
It seemed almost like a dream to be on Vancouver Island. We are grateful to the family who provided the invitation and then actually brought us over. Thank you!
This conference was held at the Saanich Fairgrounds, and the facility worked out great! Set up went smoothly, and even the coordinator’s children cheerfully pitched in to set up the chairs.
It was exciting to see the people the Lord brought to the conference. They were open to the message, and then from the discussions they had with Dad and Mom after the sessions, they seemed to have taken it to heart and be hungry for the Lord’s working. One mom e-mailed us today listing several benefits her family was already experiencing from the conference including a positive attitude change in her son!
Since we often do several songs at the end of Keeping Hearts, the young people are released for the session early so they can listen!
The guys talking after tear down Monday night.
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber” (Psalms 121:3).